Chapter 61: Fame and Presence
Human trash who failed the test, lost their will to live, and just lay around in a daze.
Their eyes, which had been unfocused, suddenly opened. Even the ears that had been closed flinched violently.
A positive phenomenon where they regained human energy. It's obvious. The problem was that the cause wasn't good at all.
"… … I, I think I just heard something really bad. It was like a dog's voice that made my insides rot."
"You too? I think I just heard something creepy. It was definitely Max saying something about getting full marks or something… ."
"Poohahaha! I'm hallucinating, I'm hallucinating. There's no way that piece of trash Max would get full marks, right? Right… … Right… …?"
The expression on the face of one of the guys who had been laughing, as if to say, "What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" awkwardly hardened.
Because he felt the gaze of those around him as if they were looking at a crazy person laughing at a funeral.
"Huh… … Huh? Why, why is everyone like that?"
"… … It's perfect."
"Huh?"
"That guy, he got full marks! Read the mood and get all sullen."
"Oh my god...."
A guy froze with astonished eyes. The other guys who had just come to grips with the reality had the same expression on their faces.
"Ugh."
Someone made a strange groaning sound.
But no one tackled him. Rather, they became more serious. It was because they deeply sympathized with the emotions contained therein.
'My success is someone else's misfortune. Other people's success is my misfortune. It is the truth of life.'
And that guy, Max, who is the success of other people… …?
The damage needs no further explanation. The shock was especially great for the two classes of people, the Royal and Noble. It wasn't just a scratch to their pride; it was like they'd been dented by a hammer.
'Max, damn it. How can this be happening?'
The guys who doubted reality were free to doubt. But what was clear was that that didn't change reality. In the end, all that was left was themselves with a huge wound to their pride.
"Ugh, the sky is crazy."
The eyes of the friend next to Elaine also became moist. What goes around comes around. The law of the jungle is yours. Where did all this go?
"… … ."
Elaine also looked genuinely surprised. But her feelings were different from the others. It wasn't a feeling of hurt pride.
Impossible.
Her head was spinning because she couldn't understand it. So, even if she didn't want to care, she couldn't help but care.
For her, who wanted to live her life completely forgetting about the existence of the evil relationship called Max, it was truly a difficult and unpleasant situation.
'… …There was another way.'
Elaine knew there was more than one way to get to the right answer.
But such methods were excluded.
Why? Because it wasn't a proven, orthodox method, but rather a rough and unrefined shortcut. She thought it would be impossible to solve it within 30 seconds using that method.
However, he did it.
Of course, it could be that it wasn't him, but another crew member who thought of it. But Elaine was sure. There was absolutely no way it could be unrelated to him.
'Max Celtrin, you are… … .'
She frowned and pondered the unexpected incomprehensibility shown by this ill-fated man. Then Max's triumphant voice rang out as if for everyone to hear.
"Oh, it's so sweet, so sweet. Surely there aren't any friends who are so low-level that they can't even suck up to such a sweet problem?"
'… … I'm unlucky.'
Elaine, with the help of the kind Max, quickly came to justice.
* * *
"It relieves some stress," I chuckled. T
The constant neglect, contempt, and criticism from those around me ever since I became possessed by Max.
I didn't really pay much attention to it because it was a natural reaction to my behavior that was so outrageous.
But honestly, as a human, I can't feel good about it. When I turned all those pent-up emotions into something provocative like this, I felt like the stress of my hectic daily life was relieved. It's good for mental health to vent like this often.
There it was. Since he was originally a guy I had a high level of dislike for, I felt relieved knowing that doing something like this wouldn't make things any worse.
That's just the way he is. It's one more thing that makes everyone agree that he's a great guy.
But there's another reason. I didn't cast AoE taunts on the guys just to lighten the mood. **I need to increase my presence.**
Presence. It's a stat that shows your place among others, along with fame. But it's a bit different from fame. If fame meant your recognition outside the academy, presence was a stat related to your standing inside it.
My presence among everyone at the academy—students and faculty included. That's what it was.
It's not directly related to strength, like stamina or power, so people often overlook it. But anyone who understands the flow of the game knows the importance of fame and presence.
They're absolutely critical to pay attention to.
**Because it's connected to so many things.**
First of all, it obviously affects human relationships. Then there are events and quests that won't even open if your fame or presence isn't at a certain level. It's a kind of necessary condition. Without those stats in a game played at the hardest difficulty, you were doomed.
So leaving it like this would mean committing suicide.
A status window opened before my eyes. But it was different from the one I saw in the dormitory.
This was the **status window for human power.**
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**[Max Celtrin]**
Fame: 244 (D)
Presence: 359 (C)
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Max's numbers appeared.
For an extra, they weren't even that low. Considering that even a B grade with a value between 400 and 499 is considered pretty good.
Maybe it's because I'm a noble and not a commoner, or because even my notoriety is still some form of fame.